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Giga Bacter
Giga Bacter Sentient Bio Form of Planet Vodanass There is no shortage of unusual and unique lifeforms within the Union. However the Giga Bacter of Vodanass (Small Magellan Cloud ) are certainly one of that can be called unusual. The tubular shaped, 10-15 meters long, entities are in a biological sense, bacteria, somewhat related to the Cyanobacteria of Earth. It appears this life form has evolved over eons into gigantic flagellants with a nerve cluster akin to a brain gained sentience. Vodanass is a water world without dry land. The oceans are home to a rich biosphere completely based on bacteria and algae. No invertebrates or other higher life forms have ever developed in the mineral laden water. Vodanass water has a high acid and salt content and has an average temperature of 20 to 30 degrees, with large ocean areas where the water temperature at the surface hovers at the 40 degree (C-Scale) mark. The planet is at the innermost radius to its star where liquid water can occur. The world is also very active tectonically with a great number of underwater volcanoes. One explanation of their size is that the Giga Bacter simply grew in size as size to be the best defense against other organisms. First Contact was made during an Union Survey of the planet. A water world, no matter how extreme, is always seen as a valuable place for a possible colony and was closely surveyed. Of course the large bacteria discovered became a scientific curiosity for the Xeno Bio Department of the Science Corps. A member of the Bio survey team possessed psionic abilities and detected sentient thought patterns. First contact was attempted but even with telepathic support proved very difficult. The Giga Bacter, having no sensory organs at all, did not know there were others like them. (They procreate via Cell division) and had no concepts of “species”, “us”, “them”. They, not being telepathic gifted themselves, had no way of communicating with others of their kind. Even the basic concepts of communication and language were utterly alien to the Giga Bacter. Their environment is rich with the nutrition they need, without the need for hunting or gathering. Specialists argue and debate why the Giga Bacter even developed intelligence or even sentience as there appears to be no need for it. Some theorize that their nerve clusters simply grew big enough to process higher synaptic functions, others suggest an external source perhaps experimentation of another species. (No evidence of this has yet to be discovered. However the concept of “I am” was clearly defined and deep philosophies about life and existence itself have been "thought" by the Giga Bacter. Memories and previous thoughts appear to be part of the genetic information and is passed on. Giga Bacter mono focused philosophies are considered to be of the most profound ever analyzed. Translating these generation thoughts though, is difficult for the same reasons communication is. Since they do not know or understand even the most basic forms of community, no single Giga Bacter could possibly understand such a complex concept as Union Membership. Membership, being part of something and the whole concept is simply not understood. A research and contact station has been established on Vodanass for further study. The Assembly prohibited colonization or any commercial operations such as farming, mining etc. Attempts to create a technical solution for improved contact have not gone beyond a few conceptual ideas, as the Giga Bacter neural clusters (brains) have no points where a wet link could be established or have the ability to process any kind of sensory information. However the individual Giga Bacter that have been contacted are eager for a more permanent contact. The idea of "others" has been processed and is now understood. Category:Sentient Species